Seeing Double

Chapter 12

A/N: Hellloooo, only 3 chapters left! <3

Liam had found his way to Mason's, his best friends. The only friend who stuck around when Liam got with Asher, the only friend Asher never hated. Mason's family loved him, always treating him like one of their own and allowing him to stay with them whenever he needed.

Considering his family weren't always home Liam felt safer at Mason's a lot of the time, his dad was a CEO and his mother worked in accounting. That often caused them to travel a lot, throwing money Liam's way to keep him happy.

Liam had arrived in tears, his cheek flushed pink from Asher's hand. It was safe to say, Mason wasn't surprised. He never liked Asher, he knew he was a dick. He never thought he would strike Liam, but he wasn't too surprised. He was more hurt that Liam didn't come to him before, that he didn't vent to him.

But he understood Liam was scared and in love, he didn't fully understand what Asher was doing was wrong. Considering Brett was his ex, he didn't have the best showcasing on how he should be treated. But then there was Theo, that part was where Mason really perked up.

"I still think you should tell him," Mason stated.

"He hates me Mase," Liam shrugged, looking down at his shoes "he won't want to hear from me after I ditched him last time... plus, he is Asher's twin. They may fight like cats and dogs, but he still loves him..."

"So, hypothetically... if he showed up here how mad would you be at me?" Mason asked, his eyes looking around the room. "Just a hypothetical-" the doorbell rang, "okay maybe it's real."

"Mason," Liam sighed, unconsciously taking a step away from the door. His heart raced as he felt frozen, "what did you tell him?"

Mason turned to face him, "the truth." Liam felt his heart sink, but before he could object Mason stopped him, "he needs to know Liam. This has gone on far too long and Asher isn't going to change, he's going to get worse and next time it's going to be worse than a slap across the face."

Liam's lips pursed; he didn't argue. Mason opened the door and Theo flew inside, rushing forward and wasting no time. "What the fuck did he do to you?" Theo asked, his voice raspy as he cupped Liam's face. Turning his cheeks until the red mark could be seen, his teeth gritted.

"I'm okay," Liam whispered, feeling tears come to his eyes again as he tried to breath through it and push them away. "He just has finals and," he sucked in a deep breath, "he fucking hit me." A broken sob tore through his words, leaning into Theo's arms.

"I'm going to fucking kill him," Theo groaned, holding Liam close and running a hand through his hair. "I'll be back, I promise."

Liam caught his hand with wide eyes, "no, please don't leave me," he pulled Theo back and buried his face into the older boy's chest. Feeling his anxiety and fear consume him, "I'm sorry," he hiccupped, "I should have listened to you."

"Doesn't matter," Theo replied, "he never should have hit you to begin with." He pulled back, wiping Liam's tears as they fell. "I never should have let you go back to him..."

"It's not your fault," Liam whispered, "I love... I loved him." He sniffed, realisation filling his mind. "He doesn't love me," he broke, "I have to leave him, I'm going to."

Theo nodded, sending Mason a small and reassuring nod. "Have you eaten anything? Or had anything to drink?"

Liam shook his head, having felt nauseous and upset the entire night the last thing on his mind was food or water. "No yet, I'm sorry," he sniffled, feeling like he was just letting everyone around him down.

"Hey," Theo said, brushing Liam's cheek. "Don't apologise for that, you have nothing to be sorry for, okay?" His green eyes burnt into Liam's oceanic ones, "how about I make you a toastie or something? Would that be okay Mason?"

"Please by all means," Mason encouraged, just wanting Liam to eat something. He hated seeing him like this, distressed and broken. This wasn't the best friend he grew up with, this was just the shell of that person.

"Thanks Mason," Theo replied, pulling apart from Liam despite the screaming in his mind. "Let's go to the kitchen," he said as Liam grabbed his hand, the idea of being alone was almost as scary as being around Asher right now.

"Help yourselves, I'll be upstairs," Mason said, giving Liam's back a small rub before he walked up the wooden stairs of his home. The sound of his shoes hitting the wood faded out as he reached the top, leaving the pair downstairs alone.

"I'm not that hungry," Liam said, his voice hoarse and quiet. "I just want a little bit please," he said, although he didn't even want that. But he couldn't disappoint Theo as well, not when he was hurting everyone right now.

"Just have half of it okay?" Theo said as he placed the sandwich into a pan, the cheese inside of it beginning to melt. "As long as you eat some of it I'll be happy," he encouraged, turning the toastie over.

Once it was cooked he used the spatula to place it onto a cutting board, cutting into in half, in a triangular way. "Thank you," Liam said, his stomach growling as he eyed the food, "it smells really good."

Theo smiled, "eat up, I'll make myself one."

"Oh, you can have some," Liam said, not wanting to have Theo go anymore out of his way than he already had. "Eat first, I can make my own one," he said, pushing the plate Theo's way and attempting to get off the chair.

"Liam, sit down," Theo said, his brows furrowed. "Please, I made it for you. I didn't even want one until I smelt it, I want you to have this one." He smiled, although it was slightly forced. Seeing how eager to please Liam was, it hurt his heart.

"Thank you," Liam smiled, taking small bites into the toastie.

A/N: awhh things are finally looking up (will that last though?)

Published: 2nd May 2024
Word count: 1045